It was known that lactic acid bacteria produce various kinds of metabolites through metabolism, and some of the metabolites perform various useful functions such as a function of inhibiting proliferation of intestinal harmful bacteria, a function of suppressing production of harmful materials, a function of alleviating inflammatory diseases, a function of alleviating cardiovascular diseases, a function of lowering a cholesterol level, and the like, such that the lactic acid bacteria have been used to prepare health food and medical formulations.
The lactic acid bacteria may decompose a specific harmful material in the body through metabolism depending on the kind of lactic acid bacteria, produce a specific material depending on a material used in the metabolism, and increase an absorption rate of a specific material in the body. For example, a food composition containing Lactobacillus reuteri for preventing obesity or diabetes has been disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-0037011, and an anti-obesity composition containing a mixture of several kinds of lactic acid bacteria has been disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1426275.
5-aminolevulinic acid is an intermediate of a porphyrin biosynthesis process, and porphyrin, which is a metal ion composite fixed in a tetrapyrrole ring, may be used to perform an important function in the body. For example, chlorophyll, hemoglobin, and myoglobin correspond to composites containing porphyrin as a core structure and different metal ions from each other. It is known that 5-aminolevulinic acid is dehydrated by 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase corresponding to dehydratase, such that porphobilinogen is formed as a dimmer, and porphobilinogen is converted into protoporphyrin through uroporphyrin.
Protoporphyrin produced from 5-aminolevulinic acid may be used as an acne therapeutic agent or an ingredient used for skin cancer photodynamic therapy, such that 5-aminolevulinic acid is used to produce protoporphyrin. However, since porphobilinogen, which is an intermediate product, has an unstable property and synthesis and purification of porphobilinogen are difficult, porphobilinogen corresponds to an expensive compound. Further, since it is predicted that porphobilinogen will be continuously converted into protoporphyrin, there are few studies on porphobilinogen.
In order to study new uses of lactic acid bacteria and a pyrrole compound including porphobilinogen, the present inventors isolated and identified novel lactic acid bacteria. In addition, while treating 5-aminolevulinic acid and the novel lactic acid bacteria together, the present inventors confirmed that the novel lactic acid bacteria and metabolites thereof have an excellent effect on a degenerative brain disease, diabetes, and obesity, thereby completing the present invention.